I traveled to Napa Valley on vacation in my early 20s and fell in love with winemaking. With a degree in forestry in my pocket, I quit my job, packed up all my stuff and drove cross country to California to work my first harvest at historic Beaulieu Vineyards in Rutherford. I kept working harvests, spanning from large New Zealand Sauvignon Blanc production to boutique cool climate red wines in Margaret River in Western Australia. In between international harvests, I spent my time learning how to make world class wines in the Napa Valley.
Eventually, I settled down to complete my UC Davis enology education remotely while working as the enologist at Rombauer Vineyards. My roles have allowed me to work with renowned winemakers such as Philippe Melka & Celia Welch on projects ranging from winemaking operations to vineyard replants as well as overall brand creation.
In 2011, I was drawn to Luna Vineyards to make Sangiovese as well as work with Philippe Melka on the boutique Moone-Tsai Bordeaux driven wines. During my 10 year tenure I revamped the Luna DTC wines to be both cost effective and critically acclaimed, with all wines receiving 90+ points at the time of my departure.
In 2021, I released my first wines under my own label Earthshine Wines, a collection of wines I adore making.